The use of three-way valves at the proximal end of catheters or intravascular charging sheaths is well known in medical technology. In this field, such a three-way valve is also called a 3-way-stopcock. The stopcock comprises a stopcock housing having connections leading away from the stopcock housing. A stopcock body having a control channel is mounted in the stopcock housing. Said stopcock body is connected with a stopcock lever in a fixed manner for rotating the stopcock body within the stopcock housing. When an intravascular introducer sheath is positioned in a patient's blood vessel, a drug may be dispensed through the introducer sheath into the vessel at any one of the three connections of a three-way stopcock, depending on the position of the stopcock lever.
In the case of a cardiac catheter examination and especially in the course of electro-physiologic studies where multiple catheters have to be introduced, for example, more than one catheter and charging sheath are frequently needed in the immediate vicinity in addition to the introducer sheath.
In the valve cutoff position of the three-way stopcock to the introducer sheath, the stopcock lever usually points in the direction of the introducer sheath. In the current way of construction, the control lever of the three-way stopcock in this closed position may easily become snagged or jammed with the additional catheters and charging sheaths being used during a cardiac catheter examination, for example. When the introducer sheath is retracted out of the vessel or replaced using a guide wire, this can lead to a number of complications that could endanger the patient or impair the treatment. The three-way stopcock in its stopcock cutoff position can act like a hook due to a gap between the stopcock lever and the tubing that connects the introducer to the 3-way stopcock, accidentally grabbing e.g. flexible parts of the introducer or cables, catheters or the like during the process of exchange. This may lead to multiple problems during the procedure.
Similar situations may be found with other configurations of stopcocks as well, e.g. in case of using a 2-way-stopcock or a 4-way-stopcock, as long as in the cutoff position of the stopcock, the stopcock lever points in the direction of the introducer charging stopcock connected via a flexible tube or the like as shown referring to FIG. 1b later in more detail. All these applications showing the same kind of problem described before are in the field of application of the present invention.
The object of the invention is, therefore, to offer a solution to the problem which will ensure a trouble-free retraction or replacement of an introducer sheath, for example, or a catheter in the cutoff position of the three-way stopcock in which the stopcock lever points in the direction of the introducer sheath in the usual manner. The attending physician can sense this position even in weak lighting to ensure, for example, that before retraction or replacement of the introducer sheath, the three-way stopcock is in its closing position with respect to the introducer sheath, thus avoiding unwanted blood loss or air entering the lumen as bubbles and, thus, the blood vessel during retraction of the introducer sheath. When the stopcock lever is pivoted into this closing position, the stopcock lever can easily become snagged or jammed with the other catheters or charging sheaths that are additionally present in the immediate vicinity, so that it is difficult or impossible to retract the introducer sheath out of the vessel or to replace the introducer sheath by removing it from the vessel. In addition, the other introducers or catheters may also be removed by accident after being grabbed by the stopcock in its closed position. This can lead to serious problems, e.g. blood loss, difficulty in accessing the vessel again and thus, completing the procedure, or damage to the vessel.